Telecoms' Re-Entry in Bonds
Is Like a Breath of Fresh Air

Edited by Hugo Dixon

Updated Feb. 7, 2001 12:01 a.m. ET

It may come as a shock to equity investors and bank lenders still struggling with the fallout of last year's TMT boom, but the European high-yield bond market has reopened to loss-making telecom issuers. German cable operator Callahan Nordrhein Westfalen and French competitive local exchange carrier Completel are planning to float new issues in the very near future.

KPNQwest , eKabel, Tele1 and Ono Finance -- which pulled a planned IPO last summer -- have all tapped investors for funds since the turn of the year. In...